Dhulkador
Population: 8,000+ Yuan-Ti, 1,700+ Lizardfolk Founding Date: 4 A.F. Major Religions: Anathema, Voice of the Serpent The ancient empire of Wild Elves, it now holds the name Dhulkador, the Lost Pyramid. The Elves who once lived here had much in common with the Azur, the mysterious race that once built the great city of Delo-Mardu. Just as the Azur were erased from existence during the Fall, the Wild Elves were forever changed. A nation of snake people who call themselves Yuan-Ti, they serve under evil gods. Their only motivation for life is to bring ruin to their enemies to the east: the High Elves. The Anathema and the Yuan Ti In the aftermath of the Fall, the Wild Elves of Dhulkamas were forever changed. They emerged a warped and twisted people. Horrible mutations that made some into giant snakes, half-snakes, or merely possessing snake-like traits. Dhulkamas fell into ruin almost instantly. This broken people groveled and sobbed for their fate. The forest now grew around the stony remains of the great pyramid complexes and choked all civilized life. The transformed Wild Elves lived like savages, snatching up rats, large spiders, and whatever food they could. They had adapted and made good use of the poison most of them now carried on their fangs. Dhulkulun, the former capital pyramid of their people, was a mad house of grief and horror. 2 A.F. saw the rise of the Anathema. Scholars have compared the Anathema's presence to that of Celine's appearance in Isilsolar. The body of a snake, two great scaled arms carrying a scepter and a mighty sword, atop its shoulders were six snake heads. A horrible demi-god of great power that only called itself the Anathema emerged and rallied all of the Wild Elves to it. The First Sermon was the three hour declaration it made. It said that it was the old Elven council. Trapped within a safe place below Dhulkulun, the energies of chaos twisted their bodies into one being. It had taken them two years to escape the catacombs and adapt to their body. The First Sermon rejected their identity as Elves. Anathema told its people to travel east and meet with their distant relatives. The message was with hopes of redemption. Their friends to the east were their brothers, surely they would help the Wild Elves in their time of need. Secretly, it was looking for a reason to enact its own personal vendetta upon all of the Sapphire Veil. It had seen the minds of the remaining High Elven leaders, for it possessed a shard of the Taum Lutheil, the Perfection Sapphires. Using it, it spoke with them and learned exactly what the Yuan-Ti's fate would be should they meet their former relatives. As the Anathema planned, the Wild Elves were seen as monstrosities when the High Elves saw their fallen brethren. Repelled by violence and magic, the travelers slithered back into the jungle and went back to their new leader, despairing at what they had left. The Second Sermon was in 4 A.F. Word of the Anathema's might had spread and hundreds more Yuan-Ti came from remote city centers. Almost all of the transformed Wild Elves now gathered at Dhulkulun. The Second Sermon is also called the Declaration of Vendetta. The Anathema rejected the name Wild Elf. They were no longer what they once were, and that was for the better. They were stronger, deadlier, and now had the might to do what they could not before: take the world for their own. If they must suffer in this new life, then all should know their pain. They would not languish as a rejected race like the Orc or the Goblin. They would build a glorious civilization of conquest. The High Elves would be the first to know their hatred. They were the Yuan-Ti from now on. Dhulkador and the Empire of Scales Their capital was renamed Dhulkador, the Lost Pyramid. They reformed their society in to castes. Those who "embraced" their new form the most were higher. Those who resembled their past selves were the lowest caste, but still considered as a central part to Yuan-Ti society. The Purebloods looked much like Wild Elves except for flat noses, green eyes, and forked tongues. Malisons were the base-line caste. They either possessed snake heads, snakes bodies, or snakes for arms. The variation of mutation makes up this caste. Bound as soldiers, they make up the majority of the Yuan-Ti armies. Abominations were the captains, the governors, and the priests of the Yuan-Ti people. Looking like enormous snakes with arms, they were the closest to their lord, the Anathema. Anathema was their life, their faith, their way forward. None could contest the Anathema's rightful place atop their social order. Not only did it represent the collective knowledge of their past, it most resembled their new form. A great blanket extended across the jungle, now physically equipped to deal with the creatures of the jungle, they reclaimed abandoned Pyramid complexes and lit the torches of their capital for the first time in five years. By 100 A.F., the Yuan-Ti were strong, organized, and unheard of. They had taken great care to cloak their existence to their neighbors. In the dense jungle, this was a fairly easy feat. Rumors of a nation of small, evil men to the north came from across the sea. Their mortal enemies, the High Elves, had recovered quickly, but the Anathema knew the loss of the Taum Lutheil grieved them. It told this to the Yuan-Ti, comfortable that they possessed a shard and, withholding it, the High Elves would never know peace. Their reach extended across the jungle, building and dominating. Lizardfolk clans quickly gave worship to the might monstrosity Anathema, bolstering their forces even more. Green Dragons that had survived the Fall pledged their loyalty as well, knowing they were too weak to fight the monster, but not wanting to give up their territory. The self-styled Empire of Scales became a force to be reckoned with. The Century of Reckoning The period of time beginning in 105 A.F. and extending to 212 A.F. is known by the Yuan-Ti as the Century of Reckoning. By the High Elves it is called the Years of Grief. In 105 A.F., the Anathema declared the Third Sermon. This was a congratulatory speech to all Yuan-Ti. They had recovered and thrived. They now commanded an empire that spanned the southern portion of Dhulkamas. They wielded the strength of dragons and the might of 20,000 Yuan-Ti, as well as the dedication of five separate Lizardfolk tribes. The time to bring the fight to their enemy was now. This offensive poured out of the jungles and into the flat lands of the High Elves. The Sapphire Veil did little to aid them, the Yuan-Ti proved resistant to most magics. They burned north, burning towns, razing forests, desecrating temples and sacred groves. Nothing Elven would stand before them. The High Elves were taken by surprise. They had done little military preparation, so consumed with the hunt for the Taum Lutheil. Many High Elves survived the Fall only to fall to these monsters from the forest. The Yuan-Ti pushed sixty miles north of the jungle, bringing their war right to the bastions of Elven power. By 117 A.F., the High Elves had been able to muster their full force and met the Yuan-Ti on the battlefield. The Battle of the Bay, the battle that would earn the bay its name, The Bay of Long Knives, lasted for six days before the Yuan-Ti retreated. The two opponents were evenly matched. The Yuan-Ti far outnumbered the High Elves, but were angry, emotional, and in no way ready for battle against an organized and veteran armed force. This gap allowed the Elves to push forward into captured territory. The Yuan-Ti were thick in the spaces they had captured. A battle of mutual occupation, most of it breaking down into mighty duels between wizards and warlocks, forced the conflict to extend 100 years with little progress. When the Yuan-Ti gained in one place, the Elves pushed in another. Counter-attack met by resistance, met by reinforcement, met by attack, and the cycle continued. Neither opponent would give. The large numbers of Yuan-Ti and the ageless vigor of the Elves created a conflict where neither foe would tire early. Eventually, they did tire. Even an ageless warrior and a legion of vigorous devils had to take time to recover. The Yuan-Ti established dominion over the twenty miles nearest to the jungle, while the Elves reclaimed land to their south, a space of fifteen miles across the banded the entire land was called the Divide. Many races came to loot the ruins, as neither nation would toe the line too close to ignite hostilities again. Now 213 A.F., both sides wondered how long they would wait. Exploration Witchearth had been established and reached out to Dhulkamas. 360 A.F. saw the creation of an official treaty of friendship between the two. Both conspired against the other, but saw that they were two nations who could co-exist, as long as they had other enemies to fight. Kuo-Toa spread through the seas and made friends with the Yuan-Ti. They did not take them seriously in any way. The silly things, they thought, spoke like mad men and believed in imaginary monsters. Their god was real and spoke to them, that is all they needed. With the aid of these strange beasts, the Yuan-Ti traveled far and reached Trickletown. This new market, along with the boon of Witchearth's ports, created an influx of goods, magics, and people. Immigrant to Dhulkamas were few and far between . The Yuan-Ti are xenophobic and hostile almost all other life. However, they soon realized the need for a lighter touch. They pulled the bulk of their people from the northern jungle, leaving it open to travel. These transient people even settled. Colonies of traders and travelers now exist and Misfortune's Landing and Neuwind. The Myconid people, who populate the Midland Quagmire, do not trust the Yuan-Ti. However, they trust very few others. Their loss of allegiance grieves the Yuan-Ti little, as long as they do not ally with the Elves. Present Day The long standing tensions with the Elves have been complicated by many other races living between the two. An unwitting buffer zone, it is enough to stop the Anathema from declaring another Century of Reckoning. It continues to explore its own ruins, establish new strongholds, and gather races to its banner. Unable to strike at their enemy through force of arms, the Anathema has begun a race to find the Taum Lutheil before the Elves. So far unsuccessful in finding any more shards, every one they would find is a great insult to the Elves and a step towards unifying Dhulkador through its instantaneous communication.